Private Finished The Art of Improvement

Carmin didn't respond for a few moments, but it wasn't because he was considering what Sumi had said. Rather, he was debating telling Sumi more about his circumstances.

"There's no random mutation and cool abilities on the way. I'm like this because a witch cursed me. It's a punishment for something," His tone became annoyed for a single statement. "Even if that something was practically nothing." Then his tone became normal again. "So I can guarantee to you that no good will come from it in the future."

It felt oddly good to hear someone else speak negatively about the horrible jerk that ruined his life. In fact, talking about it with Sumi hadn't been nearly as bad as he had expected.

Although, when Sumi asked why he'd been cursed, he started to feel defensive again. He got visibly hesitant, but ultimately he cracked. It still wasn't easy though, Carmin's face became lighter in colour and his body language seemed to hint that he was embarrassed about it.

"I, well uh... I sorta..." He took a deep breath and started again. "I stole a pot of flowers from her shop."

Carmin became noticeably more comfortable after Sumi's response. Seeing that he didn't laugh was incredibly reassuring.

He didn't seem to react much when Sumi started discussing possible cures, keeping a blank face through each suggestion. "Back when the scouts got me, they spent a few weeks trying to fix me and had no luck. I remember them asking if I was sure she was even a witch and to be honest I'm not. They tried all these charms and a bunch of wacky people who were supposed to be experts on the matter even took shots, but in the end they couldn't do it. They just said they'd let me know when they caught her and hopefully they could figure out what's up then. It's been about four months now and I haven't heard a thing."

"I guess." Carmin rubbed the back of his neck. "It just feels like a bit of a lost cause at this point. I tried finding a solution on my own a few times now but it always ended up being a big waste of everyone's time. I feel it's probably for the best if I just accept it and move on. That way at least I won't drag people down with me."

The future. Carmin hadn’t honestly thought about that much. He had trouble picturing himself working and living on the island all independent like. His current state made things weird enough already, but it was probably going to get weirder when he started working.

He couldn’t think of what he could even do so he dodged the question by focusing on Sumi’s goal. “What’s a mangaka?”